Self-perceived Social Acceptance and Peer Social Standing in Children with Aggressive–Disruptive Behaviors

Examining children's perceptions of their social acceptance in conjunction with others’ ratings of their peer social standing can enhance our understanding of the heterogeneity in children exhibiting disruptive behavior problems. Using a sample of 213 youth rated in the top 31 percent of their class on aggressive–disruptive behaviors, the current study examined the interaction between children's perceptions of their social acceptance and their peer‐rated social standing in predicting emotional and behavioral problems. Overall, lower peer‐rated social standing was associated with higher levels of antisocial behavior, academic problems, and hyperactivity/inattention. On the other hand, higher self‐perceived social acceptance was associated with increased levels of peer‐rated fighting at school. For children who were rated as having high social standing among their peers, poorer self‐perceived social acceptance was associated with increased oppositional behaviors and conduct problems at home. In addition, children who reported lower self‐perceived social acceptance exhibited increased levels of depressive symptoms, even when they were relatively well liked by their peers. The potential implications for working with subgroups of children with aggressive–disruptive behaviors are discussed.     

Specialized foster care and group home care: Similarities and differences in the characteristics of children in care

Until recently, foster children who presented special medical or behavioral problems were largely served in group care environments. Specialized (or “treatment”) foster care has recently been developed to serve some of these challenging children. Although growing evidence points to the special needs of children in foster care, much is still unknown about how children placed in various out-of-home care settings differ from one another. The growth of specialized foster care as an alternative placement to group care, calls for examination of how children in these settings compare on demographic, educational, health, and behavioral characteristics. A cross-sectional mailed survey was distributed to all group care and specialized foster care agencies in a large state to address topics related to children's characteristics. Comparisons point to two groups of very difficult children, with unique mental health and health needs.     

Barriers in permanency planning for medically fragile children: Drug affected children and HIV infected children

This article discusses the problems of medically fragile children, drug affected and/or HIV infected. Passage of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 markedly increased the number of these children in foster care. The specific barriers to permanency planning for this group of children are discussed and include interviews with staff people, review of the literature and integration of material from pilot studies of families fostering and adoping children with HIV.Dr. Groze is an Associate Professor, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Mr Haines-Simeon is a Research Assistant, Univ. of Iowa, School of Social Work.Funding for the project from which this article was derived was provided by the Dept. of Health and Human Services, Abandoned Infants Assistance Programs, contracts #90CB00029.     

Evidence-based practice for youth in supervised out-of-home care: a framework for development, definition, and evaluation

Adolescents comprise more than half of the children in child welfare supervised out-of-home care. This article considers the evidence-base for an array of services to adolescents in out-of-home care and evaluates the existing research base for each program. This review advances a framework for considering the critical need to develop, define, and evaluate the essential elements of out-of-home care services for older foster youth. Policy, program, and evaluation recommendations are forwarded.     

Extending transitional services to former foster children.

This article describes what a private agency expended while addressing the transitional needs of former long-term foster youth and examines the association between expenditures and adult outcomes. Not all young adults accepted supports extended to them. In the sample, 41% of the young adults incurred expenses after age 19. Of those using supports, about two-thirds incurred expenses for higher education, and slightly fewer for continued housing support. Median expenses were generally stable or declining between ages 19 and 21, although almost all declined after age 22. Young adults who received extended supports tended to be better off at follow-up, although some troubled young adults used extensive, expensive services.     

Research outcomes of prenatal substance exposure and the need to review policies and procedures regarding child abuse reporting

Research on the outcomes of drug-exposed children evinces elevated developmental risks from the interaction of subtle biological vulnerabilities and compromised parenting. States, however, have generally not reviewed the procedures and policies they developed in the early 1990s when there was less research and experience with these children. At that time the gravest risks related to perinatal substance exposure seemed to be excessively punitive treatment of mothers by over-zealous criminal justice prosecutors. This article clarifies policy options for reporting and serving children who are born testing positive for controlled substances and also calls for strengthening existing state policies regarding child abuse reporting and response.     

Parental views of in-home services: what predicts satisfaction with child welfare workers?

Evidence on client satisfaction deserves consideration in the design of child welfare policies, programs, and practices. Data in this study come from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being. Clients receiving in-home services reported moderate levels of satisfaction with their child welfare workers. Caregiver reports of having less than two child welfare workers, having more recent contact, and receiving timely, responsive services were associated with higher perceived quality of relationships with child welfare workers. The child welfare workers' reports of cooperativeness by the caregiver were also associated with higher caregiver-reported relationship quality.